Maryland
Wes Moore sworn in as first Black Md. governor
‘I care deeply about the LGBTQ+ community’
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Wednesday was sworn into office.
Moore, who defeated then-state Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick County) last November, is Maryland’s first Black governor. Lieutenant Gov. Aruna Miller is the first woman of South Asian descent elected lieutenant governor in the country.
Moore and Miller will succeed Republicans Larry Hogan and Boyd Rutherford respectively. Oprah Winfrey is among those who attended Wednesday’s inauguration that took place at the State Capitol in Annapolis.
“In the state of Maryland, anything is possible,” said Moore in his inaugural speech. “Today is a celebration of our collective future.”
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Moore during a pre-election interview with the Washington Blade expressed his support for LGBTQ rights.
“I care deeply about the LGBTQ+ community,” he said. “And we’re always going to fight to ensure that Maryland is a state that is open and welcome to all, regardless of who you are, regardless of who you love.”
Moore told the Blade that he will enforce the Inclusive Schools Act that, among other things, bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Maryland’s public schools. Moore in his inaugural speech specifically mentioned the need to protect the state’s LGBTQ students.
Moore last October told the Blade he will urge lawmakers to support the Trans Health Equity Act, which would expand coverage of gender-affirming health care for transgender Marylanders under the state’s Medicaid program.
Moore has appointed Anthony Woods, an openly gay U.S. Army veteran who was discharged under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in 2008, as head of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The thing that people will see is that this is not just a new thing to me,” Moore told the Blade. “We have a track record on working on these issues, whether it is the work I did on the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ whether it is the work I did when I was running one of the largest poverty-fighting organizations in the country, and supporting organizations that were supporting LGBTQ plus homeless youth.”
Maryland
Expanded PrEP access among FreeState Justice’s 2026 legislative priorities
Maryland General Assembly opened on Jan. 14
FreeState Justice this week spoke with the Washington Blade about their priorities during this year’s legislative session in Annapolis that began on Jan. 14.
Ronnie L. Taylor, the group’s community director, on Wednesday said the organization continues to fight against discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS. FreeState Justice is specifically championing a bill in the General Assembly that would expand access to PrEP in Maryland.
Taylor said FreeState Justice is working with state Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s County) and state Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Arundel and Howard Counties) on a bill that would expand the “scope of practice for pharmacists in Maryland to distribute PrEP.” The measure does not have a title or a number, but FreeState Justice expects it will have both in the coming weeks.
FreeState Justice has long been involved in the fight to end the criminalization of HIV in the state.
Governor Wes Moore last year signed House Bill 39, which decriminalized HIV in Maryland.
The bill — the Carlton R. Smith Jr. HIV Modernization Act — is named after Carlton Smith, a long-time LGBTQ activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in 2024. FreeState Justice said Marylanders prosecuted under Maryland Health-General Code § 18-601.1 have already seen their convictions expunged.
Taylor said FreeState Justice will continue to “oppose anti anti-LGBTQ legislation” in the General Assembly. Their website later this week will publish a bill tracker.
The General Assembly’s legislative session is expected to end on April 13.
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, to retire from Congress
Md. congressman served for years in party leadership
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and LISA MASCARO | Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, will announce Thursday he is set to retire at the end of his term.
Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, is set to deliver a House floor speech about his decision, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
“Tune in,” Hoyer said on social media. He confirmed his retirement plans in an interview with the Washington Post.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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